West Virginia

Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Restores Service on Ruptured WV Pipeline, More Details
April 14, 2014April 14, 2014

Last Friday MDN told you that Gastar had given a helpful update on the Williams 12-inch pipeline that had ruptured after a landslide in Marshall County, WV on April 5th (see Gastar Helpfully Provides Update on Williams WV Pipeline Outage). We gently prodded Williams and told the PR department it needs to get in gear and start talking. Well, they did. Friday afternoon Williams issued a short statement on their Williams in the Northeast website (see it below). According to the statement, full service was restored as of 1:30 pm Friday afternoon.

Now as for the rupture and explosion itself, we learn from a news story that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection continues their investigation. We also learn the explosion created a 10-foot crater and scorched trees for two acres around the blast site. No wonder some of the neighbors down the road hightailed it out of there, even without being told. Here’s the latest on the Williams pipeline explosion in Marshall County…
Read More “Williams Restores Service on Ruptured WV Pipeline, More Details”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gastar Exploration | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Gastar Helpfully Provides Update on Williams WV Pipeline Outage
April 11, 2014April 11, 2014

Last Saturday a 12-inch natural gas pipeline owned by Williams Partners in Marshall County, WV ruptured and caught fire, likely due to a landslide (see Williams Pipeline Rupture/Fire in Marshall County, WV). Not long after, one of (perhaps the) driller affected by the pipeline outage, Gastar, announced it had shut in their wells in the area–a necessary precaution to warn investors that certain targets may not be met because of the pipeline outage (see Gastar Shuts-in Marshall County Wells Due to Pipeline Explosion).

We continue to get our best information on the pipeline outage from…Gastar! We haven’t spotted a single public statement from Williams about the outage (Williams PR department, get on the ball!). Yesterday Gastar said most of their gas is flowing again, through a different Williams pipeline. Gastar also says Williams told them the ruptured/down pipeline should be repaired and operating again in “approximately three weeks.” Thanks Gastar, for keeping us up to date on the Williams pipeline…
Read More “Gastar Helpfully Provides Update on Williams WV Pipeline Outage”
Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Meetings | Sand/Proppant | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Silica Dust Exposure Topic A at ShaleSafe Conference in Wheeling
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

The West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association hosted their inaugural ShaleSafe Conference and Expo at Oglebay Park in Wheeling earlier this week (Monday through Wednesday). What makes the conference interesting and unusual is that the entire event was focused on the topic of safety in shale plays–particularly the Marcellus and Utica. If you hang around with oil and gas people for any length of time, the topic of safety comes up. Contrary to the picture anti-drillers try to paint, the oil and gas industry is laser focused on worker and public safety. And that focus showed at the conference.

The highlight of the conference–the main focus–was a panel on silica (sand) exposure, which was held yesterday (Wednesday). That panel featured Michael Breitenstein from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Dr. Michael McCawley, chairman of the Department of Occupational & Environmental Health Sciences in the School of Public Health at West Virginia University. McCawley, you may remember, has been beating the drum for some time that setbacks for drilling in WV are not enough and that air pollution coming from drilling operations is a serious issue (see WVU Prof Keeps Up Pressure on Improved Air Quality at Drill Sites). Silica dust is a serious issue, and both speakers were there to put the fear of God into the audience about it…
Read More “Silica Dust Exposure Topic A at ShaleSafe Conference in Wheeling”
Accidents | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Conference Speaker Says PA is Tops with Spill Containment Regs
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

The main focus for the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association’s ShaleSafe Conference and Expo at Oglebay Park in Wheeling this week was silica dust exposure (see MDN’s related article published today). However, another session was a close second as Topic A–the session on spill containment. The sole presenter on spill containment was Beth Powell from New Pig Energy. Spill containment became a huge topic for everyone in West Virginia after a chemical spill related to coal mining affected the drinking water for 300,000 WV residents earlier this year. In the aftermath of that spill, the WV legislature passed new regulations for chemical storage tanks–regulations that affect not only the coal industry guilty of the spill, but also the shale drilling industry too (see Impact of WV’s New Chemical Tank Law on Marcellus Drillers).

Ms. Powell had some interesting things to say about spill containment–and she should know since well pad containment systems are New Pig’s business. Among her comments, Powell said Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations are far more strict than either West Virginia or Ohio when it comes to spills and spill containment. Now that’s something you don’t hear from anti-drillers in PA who try to paint the DEP as lax, derelict in their duty, and in bed with the drilling industry…
Read More “WV Conference Speaker Says PA is Tops with Spill Containment Regs”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio County | Supply Chain | West Virginia

Oglebay Resort Profits from NE Shale in a Way You’d Never Guess
April 10, 2014April 10, 2014

The Oglebay Resort & Conference Center by all accounts is a spectacular venue and the perfect place to hold a conference. With 1,700 acres near Wheeling, WV, Oglebay offers 271 rooms, 54 standalone cottages, a spa, indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, top notch cuisine and dining…you get the picture. The West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Association (WVONGA) chose Oglebay to host its first-ever ShaleSafe Conference & Expo, held earlier this week (see a pair of MDN stories about the event in today’s lineup).

The purpose of this story is to highlight how Oglebay is benefiting (profiting!) from the shale drilling industry. Given their great location, in the middle of shale drilling on all sides (SW PA, WV, OH), it’s no surprise that Oglebay is happy to host a number of shale and oil & gas related events. It’s an important new revenue stream for them. With pristine countryside and unparalleled views, with old-growth trees and wildlife frolicking around the 1,700 acres, you would certainly want to protect and maintain it. But wait, what’s this? Oglebay leased their land for drilling in 2009 (gasp) and they now receive royalty checks too? That’s right–and when you visit Oglebay with its pristine countryside and unparalleled views, you’d never know it unless they told you…
Read More “Oglebay Resort Profits from NE Shale in a Way You’d Never Guess”
Accidents | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Gastar Exploration | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Gastar Shuts-in Marshall County Wells Due to Pipeline Explosion
April 9, 2014April 9, 2014

Last Saturday morning a Williams pipeline in Marshall County, WV ruptured and caught fire (see Williams Pipeline Rupture/Fire in Marshall County, WV). We still don’t know the cause for sure, but it’s looking like there was a small landslide from a hill that triggered the rupture and explosion.

Already that single 12-inch pipeline is having an effect on some Williams customers. Gastar Exploration with wells in Marshall County issued a statement on Monday to say they’ve had “shut-in” their wells in the area because of the pipeline outage. We have the Gastar statement below, along with a first-hand, eyewitness account of the explosion from a nearby neighbor…
Read More “Gastar Shuts-in Marshall County Wells Due to Pipeline Explosion”
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Pipelines | West Virginia | Williams

Williams Pipeline Rupture/Fire in Marshall County, WV
April 7, 2014April 7, 2014

A 12-inch natural gas pipeline owned by Williams Partners in Marshall County, WV ruptured and caught fire Saturday morning around 8 am. The early reporting says a landslide from a nearby hill caused the rupture, which happened to a section of pipeline between Waymans Ridge and Middle Grave Creek. Some residents living near the pipeline were evacuated as a safety precaution.

We don’t have a lot of details–here is what we know so far:
Read More “Williams Pipeline Rupture/Fire in Marshall County, WV”
Blue Racer Midstream | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Processing Plants | West Virginia

Blue Racer Natrium Wet Gas Processing Plant Addition Almost Ready
April 7, 2014April 7, 2014

Last September an explosion and fire at Blue Racer Midstream’s Natrium, WV natural gas processing plant closed the plant (see Explosion/Fire at Blue Racer’s Natrium, WV Processing Plant). The plant remained closed for five long months, causing some of their customers, including Rex Energy and Atlas Resources, to find alternatives to process wet gas (see Blue Racer’s Natrium Plant to Remain Offline Until Jan 2014).

It certainly was a happy day in January when the facility came back online, with repaired and new equipment, and a new alarm system for the nearby community. Always in the cards was an expansion of the processing capacity at the Natrium facility–doubling the ability to process and separate wet gas from 200 million cubic feet per day to 400 Mmcf/d. Blue Racer, when announcing the re-opening of the original plant in January, also announced they already have four new customers lined up for the extra/new capacity (see Blue Racer: Natrium Plant Back Online, New Customers, Adds Barging). Good news for those new customers–the extra capacity is about to go online…
Read More “Blue Racer Natrium Wet Gas Processing Plant Addition Almost Ready”
Landowner Coalition News | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ritchie County | West Virginia | Wirt County | Wood County

Wirt County WV Coalition Still in Hunt for a Deal – Who With?
April 7, 2014April 7, 2014

Last summer it seemed like a deal to lease 241,000 acres of land in the Wood, Ritchie, Calhoun, Roane, Jackson and Wirt County area was imminent (see Wirt County Landowner Group Close to Deal for Huge 241K Acres). But then in October Jim Lydon, chairman of the Wirt County Oil and Gas Group said the deal fell through and they were still shopping for a deal (see Wirt County Landowner Deal Falls Through, Still Searching).

According to Lydon the land in their massive coalition is in the “super wet area” of both the Marcellus and Utica Shale–and indeed he’s right. The group is still searching for a deal and no one is talking (that we can tell) on the record–although an article published yesterday in the Parkersburg News and Sentinel does mention, in passing, a few possible companies that may be talking with the group about a new deal…
Read More “Wirt County WV Coalition Still in Hunt for a Deal – Who With?”
Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Regulation | Statewide WV | West Virginia

WV Chief of Homeland Security Not Concerned About Drill Cuttings
April 3, 2014April 3, 2014

For all the hoopla from anti-drillers in West Virginia over radioactivity in drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt from drilling the borehole), and the disposal of those cuttings in landfills, you would think the state is in imminent danger of becoming a nuclear waste dump–glowing in the dark and visible from satellites passing through the night sky (see WV Anti-Drillers Continue to Harp on Drill Cuttings in Landfills).

The chief of Homeland Security and Emergency Response for the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection says the DEP recently tested drill cuttings from EQT heading to the landfill and found radiation levels to be so low, they were barely detectable. In his words, “I am not concerned about it”…
Read More “WV Chief of Homeland Security Not Concerned About Drill Cuttings”
Blue Ridge Mtn Res/Magnum Hunter | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Eureka Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Eureka Hunter Gets New $117M Line of Credit, Expansion Continues
March 31, 2014March 31, 2014

Eureka Hunter Pipeline, a subsidiary of Magnum Hunter, is a small but growing midstream company with most of its operations in West Virginia (see these MDN articles about Eureka Hunter and their recent expansion). Apparently they plan to keep on growing. Today Eureka Hunter announced they’ve got a new line of credit at the bank–for a cool $117 million. Their line of credit can grow to $150 million under the right conditions.

Magnum Hunter CEO Gary Evans says the new credit line means MH itself won’t have to float cash to the midstream subsidiary like it does now–meaning more flexibility and Eureka Hunter can expand faster. And that’s a good thing! Here’s the Eureka Hunter announcement posted today:
Read More “Eureka Hunter Gets New $117M Line of Credit, Expansion Continues”
Economic Impact | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

WV Commerce Sec Burdette Praises Odebrecht/Antero, Warns Drillers
March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Aside from WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, no one in West Virginia has been more dedicated, more focused and more committed to finding an ethane cracker plant for the state than WV Commerce Secretary Keith Burdette. MDN has stories going back years that mention Burdette and his quest for a cracker (just one example: WV’s Burdette Still in Hunt for Ethane Cracker Plant). We think it’s a fair statement to say without Burdette, the Odebrecht cracker plant project would not have happened. Our hat is off to Keith and the marvelous work he’s done for the state.

Yesterday Keith delivered a rousing speech at the Marcellus to Manufacturing Ethane Development Conference at the Charleston Civic Center. We have a transcript of his speech below. In it, Keith acknowledges the contributions of Odebrecht’s David Peebles in making this project happen. He also praises Antero Resources for their bold and brave commitment to providing half of the ethane for the new cracker plant. Finally, Keith sounds a word of warning to other drillers that are signing agreements to ship ethane out of the northeast region. He believes they may want to reconsider. The northeast has enough ethane for “a dozen crackers” if so much of it wasn’t heading to the Gulf Coast or Canada via pipeline…
Read More “WV Commerce Sec Burdette Praises Odebrecht/Antero, Warns Drillers”
Housing | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | West Virginia

Man Camps Spring Up in Marshall County, WV Near Drill Sites
March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Housing for workers is always an issue when a lot of drilling comes to town. Even if rig workers are not from out of state, more times than not, they are from another area in the state being drilled. That is, they’re still “out of towners” and they need a place to stay. Sometimes drillers will rent hotel rooms for workers. Sometimes RV parks fill up. And sometimes local apartment rentals go through the roof, creating a “crisis” for welfare slugs who need to rent a decent place to live while they don’t work (see New Study Claims Housing Crisis in NE PA from Gas Drilling).

Enter the man camp. Or as it’s called in Marshall County, WV, the “labor camp.” Labor camp sounds like something from North Korea or the old Putin-style Soviet Union. At any rate, labor camps are springing up in Marshall County, WV to handle some of the need for workers to have a place to stay while working on rigs that move from place to place…
Read More “Man Camps Spring Up in Marshall County, WV Near Drill Sites”
Education | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Noble Energy | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Noble Energy Donates $250K to WV Community College Program
March 28, 2014March 28, 2014

Noble Energy certainly live up to it’s name of “noble.” Earlier this week Noble announced a $250,000 one-time gift to the West Virginia Community College’s new Appalachian Petroleum Technology Training Center. The Center offers one-year certifications and two-year degrees in petroleum technology–just one of 14 programs in the country like it. MDN previously wrote about the new program in May 2013 (see New Appalachian Petroleum Technology Training Center in WV). Graduates coming from the program have the ability to earn between $60,000-$100,000 per year–starting! It’s a fabulous program and Noble has really stepped up to the plate to ensure the program not only survives, but thrives–so kudos to Noble.

Here’s the announcement from the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia (WVCTCS):
Read More “Noble Energy Donates $250K to WV Community College Program”
Antero Resources | Braskem | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Odebrecht | Processing Plants | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

Antero to Provide 50% Ethane Needed at Parkersburg Cracker Plant
March 27, 2014March 27, 2014

The ethane cracker plant planned for Parkersburg (Wood County), WV, to be built by Odebrecht and operated by Odebrecht subsidiary Braskem America, took another giant step closer to reality yesterday. Powerhouse Marcellus/Utica driller Antero Resources announced they will provide 30,000 barrels per day of ethane for the proposed new plant when/if it gets built. That’s half of what the plant needs to operate. Antero Resources CEO Paul Rady was joined by Odebrecht VP of business development David Peebles on stage at the Marcellus to Manufacturing Ethane Development Conference at the Charleston Civic Center for the big announcement yesterday. WV Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin took to the stage to crow about the deal too (he’s earned the right).

It was just Monday of last week that MDN observed that the Odebrect cracker plant just “feels” like it’s going to happen (see Odebrecht’s WV Ethane Cracker has The Big Mo–Momentum). Yesterday’s Antero announcement is more evidence of that. Below is the official Antero announcement about their ethane contribution to the proposed new cracker, along with a report of who said what about the deal at yesterday’s Charleston conference…
Read More “Antero to Provide 50% Ethane Needed at Parkersburg Cracker Plant”
Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Meetings | Statewide WV | West Virginia | Wood County

WV Marcellus to Manufacturing (M2M) Talks Crackers, Jobs & More
March 27, 2014March 27, 2014

The 2014 Marcellus to Manufacturing Ethane Development Conference (M2M) is part of a larger event taking place this week in Charleston, WV–the West Virginia Construction and Design Expo, being held at the Charleston Civic Center. Yesterday most of the talk at M2M revolved around the Antero Resources announcement that they will provide 30,000 barrels of ethane per day for the proposed Odebrecht cracker plant (see today’s lead story). However, there were other presentations and topics, including jobs, the petrochemical industry in WV, and more.

Here’s a first-hand account of yesterday’s M2M from a Parkersburg reporter:
Read More “WV Marcellus to Manufacturing (M2M) Talks Crackers, Jobs & More”